Other people's life choices

[Jazzy]

Why do you care about other people's life choices if those life choices don't effect you?

 

[tango]

Who said I did?

 

[Josiah]

Why do you care about other people's life choices if those life choices don't effect you?

Because I care not just for myself. I'm not that selfish and egotistical.



.

 

[Lamb]

Well, which one of you wouldn't step in if you saw a mother reach out with a knife to stab her child? You see, we DO care about some of the choices people make in this world.

 

[Josiah]

Why do you care about other people's life choices if those life choices don't effect you?

What you're laying out for us to discuss is a horrible, terrible, disgusting morality - that I'm SURE you're expecting all of us to condemn. And I'm sure we will.

Image.... a person in Nazi Germany in the late 1930's saying "So what if Hitler is killing millions of Jews, I'm not Jewish. And besides, who am I to impose my morality on Hitler!"

Image... an American in the 1850's saying, "So what if some plantation owner wants to own a bunch of Africans, I'm not African. Besides, who am I to tell a plantation owner what to do?"

Image... some guy in 2020's America saying, "So what if some girl gets raped, I'm not a girl. Besides who am I to impose my morality on some horny guy? Consider HIS situation! Walk a mile in his shoes! Maybe his wife won't let him have sex with her!!!"

Image... same mom in 2020's America saying, "So what if some sicko goes into a school and kills a bunch of children, I'm not a child. Besides, what right to I have to impose my morality on that gunman?"

This is the morality Jesus so often condemned, for example in perhaps His most famous parable, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.




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[Lanman87]

Why do you care about other people's life choices if those life choices don't effect you?

Very few choices we make don't effect someone else or at least have the potential to effect someone else.

If I choose to do drugs then it effects my family and employer as I'm not going to be as responsible and work as hard
If I choose to drink and drive then it effects the other people on the road (and I just might kill someone).
If I choose to not work and be productive then someone else is going to have to provide for me, to whatever extent I can't take care of myself
and so on...


I agree with the premise that we are free to be stupid and make bad and/or irrational decisions. However, we don't need to kid ourselves that our decisions don't have an effect on us, those we love (or at least those who love us), and society as a whole.

 

[tango]

What you're laying out for us to discuss is a horrible, terrible, disgusting morality - that I'm SURE you're expecting all of us to condemn. And I'm sure we will.

Image.... a person in Nazi Germany in the late 1930's saying "So what if Hitler is killing millions of Jews, I'm not Jewish. And besides, who am I to impose my morality on Hitler!"

Except it doesn't have to mean anything like that.

If someone smokes, or drinks more than I think they should, or spends their money in ways I consider to be unwise, why should I care about the results?

There's quite a big difference between "life choices" that result in a clearly identifiable victim who did not consent to being caught up in the situation, and "life choices" that either don't result in an identifiable victim at all or create a "victim" who entered into an arrangement entirely willingly.

 

[Josiah]

If someone smokes, or drinks more than I think they should, or spends their money in ways I consider to be unwise, why should I care about the results?

Only if we love them. And what did Jesus call on us to do? By what will others know we are Christians?

Now, IF by "life choices" the opening poster ONLY means in terms of whether, say, they buy a Toyota or a Honda, then - in those cases - I suppose it should not matter to us.



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[Lees]

Only if we love them. And what did Jesus call on us to do? By what will others know we are Christians?

Now, IF by "life choices" the opening poster ONLY means in terms of whether, say, they buy a Toyota or a Honda, then - in those cases - I suppose it should not matter to us.



.

Please. "Only if we love them"? What a bunch of bull.

Your statement is why America is in the state it is in today. Just love them. It doesn't matter. Just love them.

Love is not without direction. Certainly not a blanket to all.

A stupid statement.

Lees

 

[tango]

Only if we love them. And what did Jesus call on us to do? By what will others know we are Christians?

Now, IF by "life choices" the opening poster ONLY means in terms of whether, say, they buy a Toyota or a Honda, then - in those cases - I suppose it should not matter to us.



.

So what would you propose? If someone chooses to spend money on beer when they could be spending it on furthering their education, why is that any of my business at all? Wading into the situation and offering unsolicited advice is unlikely to be well received.

There simply isn't enough time in the day to get close enough to everybody to gain their trust/respect/whatever such that they will listen to what we think so ultimately we end up in a situation with many people where we simply have to accept they aren't harming anyone and let them live their own way. I'm not sure Jesus meant we should be busybodies, sticking our noses in where they aren't welcome and expecting people to listen to our views on how they should live while we ignore their views on how they should live.